Music Nova Scotia is pleased to present the 2026 Music Nova Scotia Music & Industry Award nominees! With award submissions covering 16 music and 7 industry categories, Good Dear Good leads the way with four nominations total. Rich Aucoin and Israel Ekanem follow close behind with three award nominations each.
Voting is now closed. Jury scores and popular vote will be combined to determine the winner of each category, which will be announced at Nova Scotia Music Week. Ceremony details will be announced this fall.
Music Nova Scotia is thrilled to announce that this year’s Nova Scotia Music Week (NSMW) will take place in Truro/We’kwampekitk from November 12-15, 2026. Now in its 29th year, NSMW invites music fans across the province and beyond back to the Hub of Nova Scotia for the first time in five years to celebrate Nova Scotia’s world-class artists and music industry professionals, with four days of music festival performances, conference programming, and an annual awards ceremony.
Annually, Music Nova Scotia has received $630,000 from the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage (CCTH) to apply toward direct investment in artists and music businesses. With the tabled provincial cuts to Anchor Organizations, that number has been reduced to $504,000. In an effort to continue to support Nova Scotian artists, and in consultation with the Music Nova Scotia Membership and CCTH, the following changes are being made to the Music Nova Scotia investment programs.
(October 22, 2025 – Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) — Music Nova Scotia is proud to announce the launch of a new three-year program to support Music Nova Scotia members’ mental health: The Well, made possible through the generous support of the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia. This new initiative provides accessible, confidential mental health and wellness support tailored to the realities of Nova Scotia’s music community.
The MNS newsletter is published on Wednesday of each week and sent directly to over 8 thousand subscribers. News can be submitted until 5 pm AT on Monday for that week’s newsletter.
are you looking for a landing page for all your links, photos and info on you or your band/group? look no further then your Music Nova Scotia artist profile! Log into your profile today to update!
• Advocate & Lobby
• Awards – Annual Music & Industry Awards
• Investment – Funding & Mentorship
• Member Benefits & Perks
• Promotion via Socials, Newsletter & Event Calendar
• Showcases – Regional & International
• Training & Consultation
• Vote – Board of Directors & Awards voting
Music Nova Scotia is a non-profit organization that has worked since 1989 with a mandate to encourage the creation, development, growth, and promotion of Nova Scotia’s music industry. Music Nova Scotia exists to grow and nurture the Nova Scotia music industry, retain our own natural resources, and promote investment, by:
• Providing education, information, and resources to our membership
• Acting as the advocate for the industry to all levels of government and private enterprise
• Supporting membership in the promotion of the export of Nova Scotia music regionally, nationally, and internationally
Membership is mainly made up of Nova Scotians but some join us from other regions of the East Coast as well as across Canada. We are songwriters, musicians, agents, managers, promoters, distributors, photographers, associations, lawyers, accountants, and other industry professionals.
